The Congress party has received a fresh notice of Rs 1,823 crore from the Income Tax department for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years, including interest and fine. The fresh notice was received earlier this week.
According to sources, the tax penalties along with interest relate to discrepancies in tax returns for the years 2017-18 to 2020-21. This comes as a blow to the cash-strapped party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The IT Department had in February withdrawn Rs 135 crore from its bank accounts for previous dues. It had also slapped a penalty totalling Rs 523.87 crore covering the period 2014-2021 for “unaccounted transactions”.
The Congress is already facing a funds crunch after Income Tax authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 210 crore and froze its funds. The party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to move to the Supreme Court.
The Income Tax (IT) department has served a fresh notice of Rs 1,823 crore to the Congress for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years, dealing another blow to the cash-strapped party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, said Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken.
“We have received notices from the time of Sitaram Kesari, from 1993-94. We have been demanded to pay Rs 53 crores from the time of Sitaram Kesari. A total of Rs 1,823 crores has been made by the IT department from Congress,” Maken said.
“Do you know how much Rs 1,800 crore is?. In 2019, our entire election expenditure was Rs 800 crores,” he added. The party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to move the Supreme Court.
Congress senior leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the BJP is engaged in tax terrorism and efforts are being made to financially cripple the Congress. He accused the BJP of being in serious violation of tax laws. “The I-T department should raise the demand of over Rs 4,600 crore from it,” he added.
Congress has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has also received a notice from the income-tax department, asking it to pay “dues” of Rs 11 crore for using an old PAN card while filing tax returns during the last few years, sources said on Friday.
They said the Left party is consulting its lawyers to challenge the notice of the tax authorities.The sources said the “dues” to be paid to the I-T department include penalties and interest due to authorities for “discrepancies” in the use of an old PAN card by the party.
